Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Here we go again? Camp hasn't even started and San Fernando is out indefinitely with ulcerative colitis.

All I know about ulcerative colitis is that Fernando Pisani has it but one of my wife's cousins has some form of colitis and it is an awful awful thing to have.

Interested in reading about this form of bowel disease? Feel free. Note the picture and also the main symptom. Its nasty.

So ... Robert Nilsson, Patrick Thoresen and maybe Andrew Cogliano? Come on down lads - with Pisani out the Oilers' depth at right wing, already iffy, now consists of Hemsky, Sanderson and whoever can reach out and grab it, unless Lowe manages to pull a Johnson out of his ass.

Hmm, well apparently it did manifest itself last season which explains a lot - between this and his baby being ill - that's a lot to bear.Perhaps it was not diagnosed - he had symptoms and then it went into remission? It was mild? It must have been because you do not play hockey fighting this fullblown.Anyhow I don't know if you can read too much into it - my guess is it was mild or misdiagnosed and then it just stormed back recently.

Bad bad deal. A couple more blows like this and we're talking lottery after all.

andy - apparently it first popped up last season but they likely did not know what it was - he probably had symptoms (diahrrea - nice) and then they were gone - likely he figured he had a flu or some bug - then maybe it flared up and he thought back and wait a second ... I'm surmising a bit but I think that may be likely

"I've just confirmed through a source that this is not something brand new and that it in fact hampered Pisani at times last year which led to a barrage of tests being started."

That's why, to quote myself, "I'm irate".

-We need a NHL goalie - later, later-Our AHL farm team folded – relax, we can spread 'em around.-We don't have enough veteran D - we'll find some at the right time.-Smyth is going UFA in the summer - we have til two weeks after Valentine's Day.-Pisani has colitis - Yeah, but its not proved debilitating yet

mr.d - still have to guess that they thought it was something that he could get through - more and more these guys are looking like amateurs but crossing your fingers and hoping one of your key guys will not be put on the shelf by a debilitating disease is akin to going into a season with a joke D corps or not signing Ryan Smyth because he's not elite and using that money to sign Souray

If we sign Johnson and Pisani comes back this season, then we have no room to make a trade at the deadline.

Who knows, maybe Lowe is gonna flip one of our excess defenseman and a prospect or two for a top 6 forward (RWer please)!

Right now I'm content with going with what we have. Nilsson is a pretty slick passer, he may fit well with Torres-Stoll. We'll have to see how bad he wants it in TC. He's by no means a lock for 2nd line duties (Cogliano, O'Marra, and Schremp might have something to say about that). Thoresen should be ready to play a 3rd line role with Moreau-Pouliot. Of course by January I might have changed my mind, but lets hope not.

I'm going to be the only guy in the office tomorrow and there's a case of beer in the fridge...I think I can be blue skying again by evening...it's all puppy dogs and lemony drops high above the chimeny tops.

BDHS is right, going into the season hoping that one of your favourite players doesn't contract some fairly rare debilitating disease is akin to going into the season hoping one of your favourite players doesn't girl slap a defenceman's (who your GM should have signed) helmet and dislocating his shoulder for the rest of the season.

Stefan, and especially Saprykin, are no replacement or even comparable to Pisani. He's twice the player both of them are, I'd rather see what the kids on the farm do than deal with either. Maybe Lowe thought the same. Or maybe he's just incompetent. Track record makes me think incompetent.